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Mobile Money: YDFS Expands Cardless Cash Withdrawal Service to 44 Financial Institutions

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Mobile money service provider, Y’ello Digital Financial Services (YDFS) has announced the expansion of its MoMo Agent cardless cash withdrawal service to over 40 banks and other financial institutions nationwide, providing seamless financial solutions to more people.

 Initially exclusive to Access Bank, the service has now been extended to include First Bank of Nigeria, Zenith Bank, GTBank Plc, United Bank of Africa and other tier-one commercial banks.

 Using the service, customers can visit MoMo Agents nationwide to access funds in their bank accounts without requiring an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) or ATM card. The service utilises a secure gateway that protects customers against fraudulent transactions and requires transaction validation using their bank PIN.

Commenting on the expansion, Chief Executive Officer, Y’ello Digital Financial Services, YDFS, Usoro Usoro said, “We all must play our part in the Federal Government’s financial inclusion drive, which we know is essential for every Nigerian. With this, more MoMo users can walk up to the nearest MoMo Agent to withdraw cash from their bank account without visiting a bank or an ATM.” 

Launched in 2019, MoMo Agent expanded its financial services in 2020 for underbanked and unbanked communities to include bill payment, cash deposit and withdrawal, data and airtime purchase and bulk disbursement services. With an agent base of over 150,000 spread across over 700 local governments, customers on the MTN network can dial *223# to locate the nearest MoMo Agent.

Why it matters
With the cardless cash withdrawal service, MoMo Agents’ sustained innovation aligns with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) financial inclusion target of 95% by 2024. This target was reviewed in 2019 as part of a five-year strategy to sustain inclusive economic growth.

To achieve this, Nigeria must attain an inclusive financial sector that has closed the gender gap. As at 2018, Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) revealed that only 59.1% of women compared with 67.5% of men were financially included representing a gender gap of 8.4%. The nature of mobile money makes it easier for women in rural areas to access financial services, which in turn stimulates economic growth.

The cardless cash withdrawal is a good initiative to deepen this inclusion. With the service, residents in rural areas can perform financial transactions without worrying about or using an ATM card. It is another major collaborative step between the mobile money service provider, YDFS and commercial banks in Nigeria.

List of Financial Institutions

  1. First Bank of Nigeria
  2. Zenith Bank
  3. GTBank Plc
  4. Access Bank
  5. Access (Diamond) Bank
  6. Ecobank PLC
  7. Standard Chattered Bank
  8. Fidelity Bank
  9. United Bank for Africa (UBA)
  10. Unity Bank
  11. Union Bank
  12. Sterling Bank
  13. First City Monument Bank (FCMB)
  14. Skye Bank
  15. Wema Bank
  16. Enterprise Bank
  17. Keystone Bank
  18. Jaiz Bank
  19. Stanbic IBTC Bank
  20. Suntrust Bank
  21. Heritage Bank
  22. Citi Bank
  23. Coronation Merchant Bank
  24. Pagatech
  25. Paycom
  26. Access Money
  27. Etranzact
  28. Eco Mobile
  29. Fidelity Mobile
  30. GT Mobile
  31. Zenith Mobile
  32. Money Box
  33. Safetrust Mortgage Bank
  34. Covenant Microfinance Bank
  35. NPF Microfinance Bank
  36. Fortis Microfinance
  37. ReadyCash
  38. Omoluabi Mortgage Bank
  39. Sterling Mobile
  40. Page MFB
  41. Stanbic Mobile Money
  42. Fortis Mobile
  43. TagPay
  44. FBN Mobile

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Mobile Money

KongaPay and UK’s Bibimoney To Ink Mobile Money Deal To Promote Financial Inclusion

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KongaPay, a frontline mobile money platform and a member of the Konga Group, has signed a deal with Bibimoney, a UK-based industry leader to onbard 65 million Nigerians to access financial inclusion.

The partnership between both trusted platforms will promote person to person (P2P) transfers, bill payments with quality and trusted payment solutions to mobile money agents, merchants, businesses, donor agencies, government and individual consumers, among others.

KongaPay will leverage Bibimoney’s status as the world’s first interoperable mobile wallet to roll out an exciting solution for Nigerian users. The partnership will also raising standards in the fintech ecosystem in Nigeria and beyond.

The iconic partnership was signed at the prestigious House of Lords, London last week by Mr. Shiraz Jassa, CEO of Bibimoney and Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh, chairman of Konga Group and witnessed by Lord Anthony St. John of Bletso, chairman of Bibimoney, and many other distinguished guests.

In his pre-signing speech, Lord Anthony, said the world has so much confidence in Africa and the Middle East because of infinite possibilities that could emerge with companies like Konga with great credentials.

“We believe in the pedigree of ownership of such home-grown companies out of Africa and shall do our best to support KongaPay become a globally respected financial services company with the way technology is simplifying transactions borderlessly. Dr. Ekeh, we have many reasons to trust Konga,” he stated.

Also speaking, Mr. Shiraz, a highly respected fintech genius and CEO of Bibimoney, congratulated the chairman and management of the Konga Group for elevating governance and trust in the mobile money business.

‘‘I must tell you that a lot of companies had approached us for partnership, but your history and the profile of your investors distinguished you from the rest and that is why we are signing an exclusive partnership with KongaPay. I can assure you that a in few months, you will become a very exemplary company out of Africa in the Fintech world after we have implemented the tech backbone that shall drive your different platforms seamlessly,’’ he said.

On his part, chairman, Konga Group, Leo Stan Ekeh while appreciating Lord Anthony, the management of Bibimoney and other distinguished guests present, assured them that the vision of KongaPay remains very clear and that is to lead in Africa.

‘‘Our target is to onboard a minimum of 65m active Nigerians and Africans by the year 2025. As you are aware, we have complimentary benefits to extend to our customers unlike our competitors and that is, leveraging on our many verticals – Konga Marketplace, Konga Travel, Konga Health, Konga Food, Konga retail stores and many more to come. Most importantly, you can trust us. Thank you for the partnership,’’ he affirmed.    

Also, vice president, KongaPay, Isa Aliyushata, said, “This strategic alliance is coming at a time that technology is changing the way financial services are performed. In the next few months, users will be thrilled with a unique simple solution that is network-provider interoperable and accommodates any type of phone in the world.”

Continuing, he stated: ‘‘KongaPay will also be rolling out lots of payment solutions that will facilitate cross-border payments, promote branchless and borderless trading across the world.  This, of course, keys in with the Federal Government’s bid to promote the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA).

“As we grow our customer base which currently stands at two million, we would be expanding the range of services we provide in the next few months with lots of product offerings and benefits that are too great to ignore. KongaPay will continue to promote payment with trust,’’ he concluded.

The epoch-making partnership places KongaPay in a stronger position to grow its market share, while offering its growing customer base more exciting options and changing the narrative of financial inclusivity in Nigeria.

Licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and insured by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), KongaPay has, since inception, played a key role as a leading provider of digital payment services for e-commerce transactions and other mobile money services in Nigeria. Likewise, Bibimoney is an award-winning mobile money platform, with global recognition and partnerships in Botswana, Mozambique, Malawi and the Solomon Islands, among others.

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Mobile Money

IFC Invests €90 million in Wave to Boost Access to Digital Financial Services in West Africa

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To spur financial inclusion and support economic growth in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, IFC announced €90 million investment in Wave Mobile Money S.A. (Senegal) and Wave Côte d’Ivoire S.A., mobile money firms that are helping lower prices and expand services in the region.

The investment from IFC and other lenders will help Wave substantially grow its operations in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, deepen its product offering, and expand its customer base for mobile money accounts and quality payment services.

IFC package comprise a €25 million loan from IFC’s own account, B Loans of a combined €41 million from SymbioticsBlue OrchardresponsAbility, and Lendable, as well as parallel loans of €24 million from Finnfund and Norfund.

IFC’s partnership with Wave will help meet the soaring growth in demand for digital payments and mobile money in West Africa in part spurred by the COVID-19 crisis. Access to digital financial services remains limited in the region with only 24 percent of active mobile money accounts compared to 34 percent in East Africa in 2020.

“Wave’s vision of making Africa the first cashless continent, by building affordable and user-centric solutions, matches IFC’s ambitions of universal financial inclusion,” said Coura Sene, Wave Mobile Money’s Regional Director for the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). “This investment by IFC and other lenders helps us offer a diversity of financial products, encouraging users to stay within the formal financial sector, deepening financial inclusion in the region.”

“Supporting access to financial services for low-income, unbanked populations is a key priority for IFC,” said Aliou Maiga, IFC’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “Our investment in Wave will not only promote inclusive finance, but it will also significantly contribute to further advance digital economy solutions in West Africa.” 

In addition to helping to finance the companies’ operations, IFC’s support will help establish a mobile money environment where customers are able to transact more often thanks to a simple fee structure and lower transaction costs. This will foster higher frequency of transactions, new payment methods and growing overall value of payments processed by the users, particularly among lower income customers.

In September 2021, IFC invested $5 million as a co-investment with Partech Africa as part of the Series A funding round in Wave Mobile Money Holdings Inc.

IFC has invested or mobilized more than $1.25 billion in the African technology ecosystem over the past six years.

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Mobile Money

CBN Approves Mobile Money Licence for PocketApp in Nigeria

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted an Approval In Principle (AIP) to Abeg Technologies Limited, a product of Piggytech Global Limited, as a Mobile Money Operator (MMO) in Nigeria. With the platform becoming Nigeria’s first social commerce platform to secure the CBN’s AIP for an MMO license, the announcement marks a crucial development in the company’s bid to support seamless payments and online commerce throughout the country. 

Additionally, in a move to underline its evolution from a money transfer app to a social commerce platform, Abeg is rebranding completely to “Pocket by Piggyvest” (PocketApp). 

The platform’s new name references its added functionalities for users to buy and sell items via virtual pocket shops and reinforces its push into a social commerce market estimated to reach US$23.8 billion by 2028 in Nigeria alone. 

PocketApp received an AIP dated April 25, 2022, from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for a license application to operate as a Mobile Money company. For the Piggytech subsidiary, this is the first step towards final approval, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions as stipulated by the CBN. 

Commenting on the approval, Odunayo Eweniyi, Co-Founder and COO of Piggytech Global Limited, stated, “We’re incredibly pleased that PocketApp has been granted an approval in principle as a Mobile Money Operator in Nigeria. We will now work closely with the Central Bank to meet all its conditions to receive the full operating license, enabling us to continue growing and expanding the scope of our social payments, social commerce and other digital financial products to reach millions of Nigerian micro-entrepreneurs.”

PocketApp affirms its commitment to the financial inclusion agenda of the CBN and the Federal Republic of Nigeria and will continue to make it easier for our teeming young population to seamlessly carry out their transactions, while saving them costs and giving them more access to get paid.

The Mobile Money Operator license will enable the company to carry out activities around: Wallet Creation and Management, E-money issuing, USSD, agent recruitment and management, pool account management, non-bank acquiring as stipulated in the regulatory requirements for non-bank merchant acquiring in Nigeria, card acquiring, and any other activities that may be permitted by the CBN.

Speaking on the company’s evolution, Patricia Adoga, COO of PocketApp, states, “For the last 18 months, we have been focused on building the core infrastructure that will enable secure social commerce and payments at scale. We believe that social commerce will thrive better in a more trusted environment. So we added escrow to our payment infrastructure, protecting buyers and sellers and many other features, ensuring a smooth shopping experience on the app.”

The app was launched as Abeg App in 2021. New as PocketApp, the payments app has about 2 million users to date. The company initially started its journey as a payment platform for sending and receiving money. It has since ventured into a full social commerce app, connecting buyers and sellers across Nigeria and soon Africa.

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